Pushing to reauthorize the Lorna Breen Act | Bills and Laws

The skinny

Healthcare advocacy groups are urging Congress to reauthorize the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, which provides funding to support the mental health of healthcare workers.

Sponsors

The measure has bipartisan sponsorship. Prime sponsors include U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Todd Young (R-Ind.) and U.S. Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.)

• Read more: Getting hospitals and state medical boards to drop invasive questions on mental health

Summary

The legislation would reauthorize the Lorna Breen Act through 2029. President Biden signed the initial law in 2022, and the legislation has provided $103 million to hospitals and other providers across the country.

Without action by Congress, the law will expire this year.

Lawmakers have introduced legislation in the Senate (S. 3679) and the House of Representatives (H.R. 7153). The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the legislation in May, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee signed off on the bill in March.

Analysis

The Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation pushed lawmakers and the White House to craft the law two years ago. The foundation is named in honor of a New York doctor who died by suicide after being overwhelmed by the trauma of treating COVID-19 patients early in the pandemic.

With the law slated to expire at the year’s end, the foundation is rallying supporters to make the case to Congress to reauthorize the legislation.

The legislation would offer more federal funds to providers to reduce burnout and support mental health treatment. In addition, the measure would also continue - and expand - education campaigns that offer hospitals evidence-based solutions to reduce burnout among clinicians.

Corey Feist, co-founder and CEO of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, said the reauthorization of the law will help clinicians and patients. Feist is the brother-in-law of Dr. Breen.

“Our health workers are in a mental health crisis - fueling the health worker shortage each and every American is experiencing today when trying to access high-quality care,” Feist said in a statement in May.

Kaine said in a statement that reauthorizing the bill will “ensure we are continuing to do what we can to prevent burnout, protect the well-being of our health care workforce, address shortages in the field, and help Virginians get high-quality care.”

Wild, one of the prime sponsors of the legislation, said earlier this year, “We must reauthorize this critical law to continue carrying on Dr. Breen’s legacy and investing in support for health workers’ mental health needs.”

Many doctors continue to struggle with their mental health. The Physicians Foundation’s 2023 Survey of America’s Current and Future Physicians found that six in 10 doctors report feelings of burnout. That’s up from four out of 10 doctors in 2018.

Nurses are also struggling with their mental health. The American Nurses Foundation surveyed more than 7,400 nurses, and the majority of nurses (56%) said they are experiencing burnout.

• Read more: Protecting the mental health of young clinicians

Supporters

The American Hospital Association has endorsed the legislation.

“Reauthorizing the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act is critical in providing our caregivers the support they deserve. Doing so will also help ensure patients and communities continue to have access to high-quality, compassionate, and accessible care,” Stacey Hughes, executive vice president of the AHA, said in a statement.

Sean T. Connaughton, president and CEO of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, said the legislation will offer more resources to help clinicians stay healthy.

“Health care providers are people with lives and challenges, just like everyone else. They also happen to be the people patients and families count on in their hour of medical need,” Connaughton said in a statement.

The Association of American Medical Colleges has also backed the legislation.

Getting help

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial or text 988 to connect with someone. Help is available 24/7.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers resources for healthcare professionals.

NAMI: The National Alliance for Mental Illness offers “frontline wellness” resources for healthcare workers and public safety employees.